- Hon Chris Bishop
- Hon Simeon Brown
- Hon Louise Upston
The Government is building Eden Park's future as a major events venue, making significant changes to local planning rules that have been holding Eden Park back from its full potential, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says.
"Late last year the Government launched an investigation into whether outdated planning rules were unnecessarily limiting Eden Park's ability to host major events and deliver jobs and economic growth for Auckland and the rest of the country," Mr Bishop says.
"That investigation, which included public consultation in November, found the rules were overly restrictive, out of step with modern stadium use, and were directly constraining economic activity. We have now accepted all of the recommendations in full, with some technical amendments to reflect feedback from Auckland Council.
"The changes will allow Eden Park, New Zealand's largest stadium with a capacity of around 50,000, to host more major events that bring significant benefits to the local and national economy.
"Under the new settings, Eden Park will be able to host up to 12 large concerts and 20 medium-sized concerts per year as permitted activities, without needing resource consent. That's up from its current limit of 12 concerts, which were not permitted to be from more than six different artists or acts.
"The changes also enable a wider range of events, including exhibitions, displays, markets, fairs, trade fairs, and cultural and community events."
Chris Bishop says the changes are expected to be in place in April 2026.
"Concerts will be able to take place on any day, must finish by 11pm, and can run for up to eight hours. This is a significant increase on the current maximum of five hours on a weekday and six hours on a Saturday.
"Night-time sports games will be permitted on any day, including Sundays, provided noise standards are met. Existing caps on the number of night games per year and per 35-day period, as well as the restriction on day-night cricket matches, will be removed."
Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston says it's a huge step forward for major events.
"We know big events deliver. For example, over three years, 14 Auckland shows (including Coldplay and Pearl Jam) generated $33.7m for the local economy with 490,000 attendees," Ms Upston says.
"These changes sit alongside the Government's $70 million events and tourism investment package announced in September, which is about helping New Zealand compete internationally, attract world-class events, and give both visitors and locals more reasons to get out and enjoy them."
Auckland Minister Simeon Brown says Eden Park is our national stadium and a critical piece of infrastructure for Auckland and New Zealand, and these changes secures its future as a premier events venue.
"This is a significant win for Auckland and for New Zealand. Strengthening Eden Park's ability to host major events supports our broader work to grow the economy and ensure Auckland remains a world-class destination.
"It means more jobs, more activity for local businesses, and more opportunities for people - whether they live here or are visiting - to enjoy more events at our largest stadium," Mr Brown says.
"These common-sense changes will enable Eden Park to operate like a modern, world-class stadium and deliver more jobs and economic benefits for Auckland and the rest of New Zealand," Mr Bishop says.
Note to editors:
Please see attached fact sheet which compares the key changes to Eden Park's existing restrictions with the status quo.
Regulation-making power background:
The investigation was conducted under the new regulation-making power in the Resource Management Act, recently passed into law through the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Act 2025.
The regulation-making power enables the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform to remove or modify provisions in RMA plans where they negatively impact economic growth, development capacity or employment.
The Minister must investigate the impacts of the provisions and whether specified statutory criteria are met and produce an investigation report which must be made publicly available.
The Minister must then report to Cabinet with the findings, for a final decision on any changes to the RMA plan.
The changes will be delivered via regulations, which will require Auckland Council to amend its plan without using the regular plan-making process.
